


Looking Back and Moving Forward

by MerakiMela



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Dealing with past trauma, F/F, F/M, Found Family, M/M, Post-Canon, Swearing, au where everything is slightly different to canon, just warning you ahead of time, making a tv show, narrative parallels, post defeat of hawkmoth, rating and archive warnings apply to later chapters, the tv show we know took creative liberties
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:20:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21554530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MerakiMela/pseuds/MerakiMela
Summary: It's years after Ladybug and Chat Noir have defeated Hawkmoth, but it's not as happily ever after as one might think. Members of the public are still scrutinizing Adrien, waiting for proof that he'll end up just like his father, despite the fact that he hasn't even talked to the man in years. Meanwhile, Marinette faces criticism for not being as far along in her career as experts predicted, being labeled as lazy and not driven enough for the industry, even though every moment she is not handling Ladybug or Guardian responsibilities she is working.Angry that their best friends aren't getting the respect they deserve, Alya and Nino decide to create a TV series about Marinette and Adrien's lives in còllege so that everyone will finally know everything the duo went through. But they're about to learn that creating a TV series is harder than it sounds, even when the talent is out of this world.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Original Character/Original Character, Sabine Cheng/Tom Dupain
Comments: 11
Kudos: 49





	1. The Welcome Party

_“It’s a beautiful morning in Paris today, and everyone is buzzing with anticipation for the second day of open auditions for the titular characters in ‘Ladybug and Chat Noir’. Creator of the acclaimed ‘Ladyblog’ and Co-writer of the series Alya Lahiffe, formerly Césaire, claims that this series will be unlike any other creative take on our heroes, in that it will focus on the heroes’ lives outside their masks just as much as in them. Here’s what she and Co-writer Nino Lahiffe had to say.”_

_“Every Ladybug and Chat Noir story so far has focused on their superhero sides. We wanted to delve into the struggles that go on behind the scenes in keeping up what is essentially a double life.”_

_“Now it goes without saying that we don’t know what their real identities are, so the series will be a creative reimagining of events, so to speak. We’re very grateful that our executive producer came up with the brilliant idea of imagining that Ladybug’s civilian identity was Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Chat Noir’s civilian identity was Adrien Dupain-Cheng, formerly Agreste.”_

“I still can’t believe you tricked Mr. Marchand into thinking he came up with that idea.” Adrien chuckled, interrupting the news broadcast that was playing on the café’s TV screen. Nino leaned back in his chair with a confident grin.

“Yeah dude! Although, I’m kinda worried how much subliminal messaging works.” He commented, face shifting to a slightly concerned expression.

“You excited about getting back into the auditions?” Adrien asked, giving a thankful nod to the waitress clearing their mugs. Nino huffed.

“Definitely not. If the kids we get today are as awful as the ones we saw yesterday then this is going to take forever! Why did we choose to have an open audition and to run it ourselves?” He whined, draping an arm over his face dramatically.

“Because you don’t want someone whitewashing your life?” Adrien asked in an amused tone. Nino dropped his arm and sat up with an unimpressed expression, having risen to his best friend’s bait to annoy him.

“I obviously haven’t forgotten that. Just let a bro complain.” His response only made Adrien laugh, before the blond stood up with energy and determination.

“Let’s go bro. You can complain on the way.”

* * *

“I can’t imagine how who you’ve seen so far could be all that bad. Surely there was at least one that had potential.” Nino paused to consider what Adrien had said, causing Adrien to stop with him.

“Yes and no, I guess? All the dudes we’ve seen that had any potential were either great at playing Adrien but awful at Chat Noir, or vice versa. They all seem to struggle with forming the two into one person.” Nino explained. Adrien pulled his lips tight in a mild grimace. To him, the difference in his behaviour between his personas was natural. He was forced to be complicit as Adrien, so he let out his chaotic energy as Chat Noir.

“Do you want me to sit in on the audition panel? I could give you advice on giving them character motivation and see if that helps.” He suggested. Nino’s eyes lit up with a spark of hope.

“Really? You wouldn’t mind sitting through awful renditions of yourself just on the chance that we’ll stumble upon someone who could potentially work?” He asked, carefully making sure Adrien knew what he was getting himself into.

“Well, I am the fight choreographer slash stunt coordinator. I should be in there anyway making sure we pick people who are capable of more than just acting.” Adrien pointed out. Nino’s expression dropped.

“Ugh! I didn’t even think of that! It’s going to be even harder than we thought!” He cried out, shoulders slumping dramatically. Adrien couldn’t help but laugh.

“What did you think it would be like? Did you expect the perfect actor to just fall out of the sky?” Adrien teased. He was about to prompt his friend to continue walking to the car when a rumble in the ground nearly threw him off balance.

“Plagg, was that you?” Adrien hissed under his breath.

“That wasn’t me! It wasn’t even a destructive wave, and if you were better at reading energy you’d know that.” Plagg hissed back, his angry voice tickling as it vibrated against his chest.

“If it wasn’t destructive then what was it?” Adrien asked.

“Was it connective?” Nino chimed in softly. Adrien raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Sorry, it was just a guess. The energy felt like when bumper cars bump into each other, or if a boat docks too quickly.” Nino explained, looking a little embarrassed for trying. Plagg chuckled darkly.

“See, even your stoner friend is smarter than you. He got it straight away!”

“Shut up Plagg. What does that mean, ‘connective energy’?” Adrien asked.

“I don’t understand. Do you want me to shut up or to tell you?” Plagg bantered with a mischievous tone. Adrien groaned with frustration, wishing Tikki were here. She’d just explain what was happening immediately without feeling the need to make fun of him.

Suddenly a loud crack in the atmosphere interrupted them, causing everyone in the area to look up for the source of the sound. What appeared to be a portal was forming high in the sky. But it was less like something was appearing and more like the air in the space was tearing, like a cat fighting its way out of sheer stockings. Adrien braced himself, ready to run off and transform to fight whatever monster would burst out of the portal once he had the heads up on what it was. What he wasn’t ready for, was a human girl in active wear to fall out of the portal screaming.

His heart dropped into his stomach. There’s no way she could survive hitting the ground from that height, and even if he transformed right here in front of everyone, she was too far away for him to run and catch her. The girl stopped screaming and aimed her trajectory towards a flagpole. At first Adrien flinched, assuming she’d grab the flag. If the rope and pulley holding the flag up were secure, she’d rip the flag, and if it weren’t she’d just drag the flag down with her. Either way would only slow her velocity enough to only break several bones rather than die instantly. Then he saw that she instead grabbed the flagpole through the flag, using it to shield her hands as she slid down. The girl heaved her legs up as she clung to the pole, redirecting her momentum into spinning around. As the flag wrapped around the pole her momentum slowed, until she was able to grab onto the pole with her thighs and come to a complete stop. Keeping her legs wrapped around the pole, the girl let go of the flag and allowed herself to slide down the pole safely. Adrien and the girl only had a moment to sigh with relief before cheering erupted from her audience on the street.

“That was insanely lucky! If that flag pole hadn’t been there you’d be dead!” A particularly excited man commented loudly. The girl looked at the crowd, seeming startled by how many people were looking at her. She glanced up at the French flag before looking back at the crowd.

“Uh…Vive la Chance?” She responded with a shrug and a dismissively playful smile, which turned to a satisfied grin when people in the crowd laughed. A wave of nostalgia hit Adrien as he looked at the teen awkwardly dealing with an onslaught of questions from the building crowd. She reminded him so much of his younger self, especially now she was still enough to look at. Most of her golden blonde hair was swept into a messy bun on the crown of her head, apart from the messy fringe framing her face that went all to well with her exhilarated grin. That combined with her all black activewear gave the girl a strong Chat Noir vibe. Before he knew what to do with that thought, the girl’s face went instantly serious as her head angled sharply to the side. In almost a flash the girl had launched away from the pole and was sprinting toward the road. Following the direction she was running, Adrien glanced over to realise that a small child had walked backwards from the crowd onto the road to try to get a better view, right into the path of an oncoming truck. The teen girl made it to the little boy, sweeping him up into her arms as she leapt out of the truck’s path. They made it just in time as the truck flew past, only to end up in the next lane over in the path of a car that seemed to hit its brakes too late. Adrien held his breath as the girl hefted the little boy above her head just as the car slammed into her, throwing her backwards through the air. As she neared the ground, the girl pulled the child close to her, hand shifting to his neck to brace for impact. Hitting the ground heavily, she bounced once before coming to a stop. The crowd, only now seeming to have caught on to what happened, began a medley of panic ranging from confused murmuring to full on screaming.

“Leon!” A woman cried out, sprinting over to where the girl lay cradling the young boy. The child, Leon, seemed to be realising what just happened to him and what could have happened, burst into manic tears. The woman pulled him from the girl’s hold into a comforting embrace. As the crowd shifted to huddle around Leon and the woman, Adrien watched the girl crawl away, weaving through legs until she made it to the other side of the road, before she limped off down an alley way. A quick look over at Nino’s distressed expression told him that his friend was thinking the same thing. Silently they darted across the road and made their way over to the alley they saw the teenager go.

There she was, huddled on the ground leaning against the wall, face pressed into the arms that rested on her bent knees. Somehow, seeing her this way gave him more nostalgia; of times where he was just begging for a moment of rest while life continued to throw shit at him. In those moments, he always wished that somebody would notice, and hoped that they would care. Right now, Adrien noticed, and he definitely cared. Cautiously he approached her, attempting to not startle the girl as he crouched in front of her.

“Are you ok? That was quite a show back there.” He asked with a light tone, hoping it would make for a comfortable introduction. Without lifting her head, she let out a breathy laugh.

“That wasn’t one of my greatest hits, was it? Definitely fell flat with the audience.” The girl said dryly, slightly muffled by her limbs. Adrien gave a hearty chuckle at her jokes. She was definitely coming for his gig and he wasn’t even mad about it.

“Dude, this isn’t really a time for jokes. We need to take her to the hospital.” Nino reprimanded in a soft but urgent tone. At this the girl tensed, head jolting up with an expression of panic over her face. Startled, Adrien flinched as he finally saw the details of her face up close. From just her eyes she could have been mistaken for a younger version of his mother, sporting the same vivid green and upturned corners that he inherited himself. The girl’s buttony nose dusted lightly with freckles and her pouty, cherubic lips were what broke the similarities, but the eyes were enough to almost scare Adrien as he looked at her.

“No! No hospital, _please!_ It was nothing…I’ll be fine.” The girl pleaded desperately to Nino.

“Are you crazy? You fell out of the sky and got hit by a car! That’s not nothing!” Nino exclaimed, clearly getting distressed as his protective instincts were working overtime. Adrien watched the girl panic, looking between Nino and the way back out of the alley. Instinct told him that speaking loudly wouldn’t help her calm down, so as he knelt down closer to her, he placed a hand gently on her shoulder. She flinched at the contact, eyes jolting to him and locking into contact with his. He saw a flash of recognition momentarily, but she only froze.

“That was really brave how you saved that kid. But pretending you aren’t hurt isn’t brave, it’s just dumb. I know that better than anyone. So be honest; are you okay?” Adrien spoke softly and with as much warmth and care as he could project. The girl’s eyes shimmered, before breaking eye contact and relaxing her body.

“My head hurts a lot…but I still can’t go to hospital! I don’t have any documentation or form of ID, so once they find out they’ll just detain me and I can’t be locked up again!” She explained, voice gaining emotional momentum as she spoke, turning her body away from them and curling up against the wall as if attempting to shrink. Adrien’s heart felt heavy with empathy. He recognised this fear. He lived with this fear nearly his whole life. He was not about to let another child deal with it alone. He moved closer again, replacing his hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay, everything’s going to be okay. Look at me.” At his words, she turned to face him with a look of apprehension and anticipation.

“I’m not going to let anyone lock you up. I promise.” He declared, eyes watering as he stared into hers. As her expression began to show traces of hope, he felt a hand on his shoulder pulling him back. Turning towards the hand he saw Nino crouching beside him wearing a very concerned expression.

“Adrien, you can’t make promises like that.” He whispered harshly. As Adrien prepared to argue, he realised that his friend was only coming from a realistic point of view. If she were detained after he made a promise like that, it would only hurt her more. Breaking him out of his line of thought was a small burst of giggles that came from the girl in front of him.

“Adrien? Is that really your name?” She asked, shoulders shaking slightly from silent laughter.

“Yeah…why is that funny?” He responded, not sure why his name has caused this reaction. The girl steadied herself as she gained composure.

“I’m sorry, it’s just with the blonde hair and the green eyes you look like Adrien Agreste.” She explained, grinning as if she were revealing a punchline. Adrien blinked in surprise.

“Come again?” Was all he could say. This girl had come through a magic portal from what he assumed was another realm, or world even. How did she know who he was? On top of that, how did she know enough about what he looked like to see a resemblance without being able to tell that it was him? Her expression shifted in a way that showed she was realising that she had to explain what she was saying.

“He’s a character from one of my favourite cartoons. You probably don’t have it in this world. ‘Miraculous: Adventures of Ladybug and Chat Noir’. Have you heard of it?”


	2. Audition Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile back at the ranch - I mean, concert hall...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains themes of xenophobia/racism and fat shaming

“Thanks for helping us set up. All I asked for was coffee and here you are moving tables and chairs!” Alya exclaimed cheerfully before taking a sip from her still warm cappuccino as she watched her best friend walk across the room carrying a table four times her size. With an ungraceful ‘oof’, she dropped the table at the far end of the cleared rehearsal room.

“It’s no trouble, Alya. Besides, it’s not like I had anything to do while I wait for Adrien to get here. It’s so awesome that you guys had to upgrade the venue to the concert hall because there wasn’t a big enough waiting room at the studios. I always knew your idea would be popular, but I never really thought of the scope of it until I saw how many were queuing up to audition.” Marinette commented, dodging out of the way of Alya’s assistant Dani as the young woman frantically placed chairs down along the length of the table.

“I guess now would be a bad time to ask you to sit in on the panel and help me assess the auditionees.” Alya laughed awkwardly, but not without a cheeky glint in her eye. Marinette groaned.

“I already told you no! I’m the costume designer; it doesn’t make any sense for me to be on the panel!” She complained, gesticulating wildly as she walked toward the door. Alya skidded to intercept her, blocking the doorway.

“Pleeeeeaaaase? Pwetty pwease Mawinette?” Alya begged, voice growing comically childish as her eyes became round and lips began to pout. Marinette’s eye twitched, before she flinched and quickly turned away.

“I don’t get how me being there will help improve the quality of the auditions. They’re not going to suddenly get more talented just because I’m in the room.” Marinette argued, folding her arms in defiance.

“Just seeing you there might be just what these girls need to feel inspired! A lot of them are performing off of assumptions they’ve made about you, so seeing the real you, hearing your real voice and feeling your energy should in theory produce better results.” Alya countered, massaging her hands into Marinette’s shoulders. After a few moments, Marinette’s body relaxed.

“Ugh, fine! I’ll help with auditions. I just need to text Adrien and cancel our plans.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I told Nino to get Adrien to sit in on the boys auditions.” Alya giggled as Marinette suddenly spun to face her.

“Alya!” She berated, which only caused more giggling.

“You’ll be happy to know that it was a lot harder to convince you than it was Adrien. According to Nino he didn’t even have to ask, Adrien just offered after Nino complained a little.” Alya revealed, holding her phone up which showed her conversation with Nino. Marinette sighed.

“Of course he did.” She groaned. Adrien was really too sweet for his own good.

“Sometimes I can’t believe you managed to marry someone who is even worse at resisting baby doll eyes than you.” Alya teased, poking her friend in the stomach. Marinette rolled her eyes.

“Sometimes it becomes a real power struggle between us.”

* * *

“Attention everyone! We’ve just received word that Mr Lahiffe is running late. This means that everyone’s time slots have been pushed back by fifteen minutes. We apologise for the inconvenience and please let whoever is picking you up know about the time change.” A woman who had earlier introduced herself as Dani announced through a loudspeaker, addressing the foyer area full of waiting auditionees. Ying Yue sighed, relieved that this meant she had more time to mentally prepare for her audition. As a figure skater, she doubted she had half as much experience with acting as most the room did, so in her mind she had every reason to be nervous.

“Ugh, it’s _so_ unprofessional to run behind schedule. They can’t expect me to change _my_ day just because they’re unorganised!” One girl with brassy blonde hair scoffed loudly. Ying Yue rolled her eyes. If that’s the way this girl thought, why not just leave? Uninterested in what the girl was selling for attention, Ying Yue put her headphones back in to listen to the recording of her older brother reading out the other lines so she could work on memorising her lines as responses. She managed to get maybe three minutes of mental practise in before an angrily tapping foot in her peripheral vision caused her to take the earphones back out and look up. The weirdly entitled girl from before was standing in front of her, eyes scanning up and down as her face twisted with disgust. Up close, you couldn’t avoid her aura of ‘I have gotten everything I’ve ever demanded before’, which was only backed up by the bright red dress with large black polka dots and black tulle sticking out the bottom, which looked more like a costume for a five year old’s dance concert than something you’d wear to a serious audition.

“You two are _way_ too dark to play Ladybug. You should have gone for a lightening treatment before wasting everyone’s time.” The girl criticised, glancing between Ying Yue and the girl sitting next to her. Ying Yue’s stomach dropped. She was scared this would happen. Even though she was part Chinese and part Italian like Marinette Dupain-Cheng, she clearly had more of a Mediterranean influence in her genetics than the designer. Was that enough to instantly disqualify her for the part?

“Speaking of wasting time, they already filled the role of Chloe Bourgeois, so I’m not sure why you’re even here.” At the sound of the snappy retort, Ying Yue looked over to see the girl next to her wearing a daring grin as she pointed her phone at the rude girl. Not seeming to have a response to that, the girl scoffed and pivoted away.

“Thanks, I’m not sure what I would have said if I were alone.” Ying Yue thanked gratefully. Looking at her new found friend properly, Ying Yue couldn’t help but notice the broad shoulders underneath the wild brown hair and a hint of stubble. She mentally shook off that train of thought, as it was none of her business. Girl or boy, they were completely fabulous with their black, sleeveless turtleneck top tucked into purple tartan pants and perfect gold highlighter.

“Don’t mention it. Entitled brats like that need to be told off, so I’m only doing my duty.” The brunette replied with a charming grin. Ying Yue smiled back warmly. The more she thought about it, the more she realised that it really was none of that rude girl’s business how “suitable” they were for the role. She reminded Ying Yue of the girls at her skating comps who would give painful backhand compliments to the other girls in order to psych them out before their turn. Only this brat wasn’t subtle enough to use backhand compliments and went straight to directly insulting people. Bringing her attention back to the bully, she realised that she was now standing in front of a moderately chubby girl who was physically shaking as she avoided making eye contact with the bully.

“Do you seriously think you’ll be able to lose the weight before they start filming? I’m not sure there would be enough time. Ladybug is skinny! How _delusional_ can you be if you think you stand a cha – ”

“Enough!” Ying Yue shouted, voice echoing as the room went silent. Ying Yue jumped to her feet and paced angrily over to stand between the bully and her latest victim.

“Who the _hell_ do you think you are that you think you’re allowed to treat other people like this? Do you honestly think you’re a better fit for the role than everyone else in this room? Why the _fuck_ would Ladybug, the champion of love and goodness want someone so evil playing her? Spoiler alert: she wouldn’t! Nobody in their right mind would ever cast someone who went out of their way to emotionally sabotage the competition, so why the hell did you think behaving like this was a good idea? Did you think we’d all put up with you? Well, you’re wrong; we’re not going to put up with you! None of us are!” Ying Yue declared in the most angrily commanding voice she’d ever used in her life. She almost dropped her composure when a burst of cheers from around the room surprised her. The entitled bully was fuming, face turning a concerningly dark red with rage. As the girl went to take a step toward Ying Yue, suddenly there were boys and girls jumping up to stand beside Ying Yue, including her new friend with the phone camera still out, all squaring up in a way that made it clear what would happen if she tried anything.

“What is going on out here? What is all this noise about?” A deep male voice called out, cutting through the sound of teenagers cheering. Behind the bully, Ying Yue could see a security guard looking around before his eyes landed on her. In a moment, the bully’s expression twisted from rage to despair before she turned slowly to the guard, unleashing a wailing sob.

“Th-they’re ganging up on m-me! They’re b-bullying me!” She cried dramatically through fake stuttering. When the security guard’s expression shifted to one of sympathy, Ying Yue assumed it was all over for her.

“Actually sir, I have video evidence that this girl was going around bullying the other girls in an attempt to sabotage their auditions.” Ying Yue turned to see her friend and possibly guardian angel hold up her phone, showing a thumbnail preview of a video on the screen. The bully whipped back around, eyes wide and mouth gawking. The security guard sighed before taking several steps toward them.

“I’m going to need the two of you to come with me so I can review the footage.” He explained tiredly. While the bully whined, Ying Yue’s new hero only smirked.

“Happily.”

“What about your audition? Aren’t you afraid you’ll miss it?” Ying Yue whispered with concern.

“Pfft…I’m not auditioning to play Ladybug, I just snuck in to get exclusive footage of the auditions for my vlog. I’m not even a girl.”

“Oh. How did you even sneak in? Everything about you draws attention.” Ying Yue questioned, which won a laugh.

“I like you. Good luck!” They said, before strutting over to the guard. No longer distracted, Ying Yue notices the entitled brat standing near the girls she was sitting with earlier, whispering something angrily at them. The security guard cleared his throat, prompting her to stop her conversation and join him as the three left the foyer.

* * *

“Oh wow, this is some OG Chloe level bullshit.” Alya commented, watching the screen with disdain.

“Dani, message security and make sure they know this girl is banned from going anywhere nea – Whoa!” The sudden exclamation makes Marinette jolt in her seat. Looking over at her friend, she saw that her expression had shifted to enthralled.

“What is it?” She asked curiously.

“This girl just went full you! Come see!” Alya gestured enthusiastically for her to come over, before tapping the screen to skip back. Sure enough, Marinette saw a girl march up to a mean looking girl and stand between her and a very frightened looking girl. Even though Alya didn’t seem to think to give Marinette one of her earphone so she could hear what was being said, it was clear that the girl was giving a commanding and righteous speech. If this is what Alya considered “full Marinette” she wasn’t going to argue, as she was half expecting someone to just fall over or something.

“We should make sure everyone out there is okay.” Marinette suggested. If that horrible girl was really acting like classic Chloe, a good amount of the girls out there are probably pretty shaken up.

With a nod, Alya pulled out her earphones and put down the tablet before they both stepped out of the room and into the foyer. As soon as the pair was recognised, there was a buzz of excitement passing over the crowd.

“Hello everyone. As someone who has dealt with harsh bullying growing up, I know from experience that when a girl like that targets you, it’s because she feels threatened by you. No matter if you get the part or not, you’re all wonderful and talented in your own way and people like that will never take your value away from you.” Marinette reassured to the crowd with a warm smile.

“This production will not tolerate bullying of any sort. Anybody caught harassing others will be immediately banned. I assure you as your co-director that I will do everything in my power to make everyone on my team feel safe, so please never be afraid to speak up to either me or one of the adult staff members. We will be starting auditions in about five minutes, so please be ready for your turn.” Alya announced, eyes scanning the crowd until she spotted the girl from the video. She paced confidently to the girl, winning a startled expression and a small yelp.

“What’s your name?” Alya asked. The opened and shut her mouth a few times before any sound came out.

“Y-Ying Yue… DE LUCA! I mean…my full name is Ying Yue De Luca, but you can just call me Ying Yue.” Ying Yue answered, managing to go from soft to loud, back to soft again. Alya couldn’t help but grin as she turned to her assistant.

“Dani, please put Ying Yue through to the chemistry read. She’s already made it through the first round of auditions.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we can all see where this is going ;)


	3. Don't Meet Your Heroes...Or Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien, Nino, and Aurelia arrive at the concert hall.

As they turned into the driveway of a rather large concert hall venue, the sound of crowds cheering from the street at the sight of Adrien and Nino became fainter the further they drove away. The only details Aurelia were picking up were vague, as she was heavily focused on the increasingly grumpy and adorable Kwami in her hands. She giggled as she scratched a purr out of the small god, thoroughly enjoying his attempt to be coy. He was so cute, she wished she had some cheese on her to give to him.

“Aurelia, we’re here. Can I please have Plagg back?” Adrien asked politely.

“No! He’s too cute!” She exclaimed, clasping her hands around Plagg and snuggling into him.

“Adrien, make her unhand me!” Plagg cried out dramatically. Adrien sighed.

“Plagg, you can phase through objects; I know you could get out of there if you really wanted to.”

“I can’t phase through magical structures dumbass.” Plagg mumbled under his breath. Aurelia froze in a panic. First at the fear of being found out, as it appeared Plagg knew and could potentially tell Adrien. Second, at realising that she had accidentally genuinely trapped Plagg by holding him.

“What?” Adrien asked, turning to lean into the back of the car as he couldn’t hear what Plagg was saying.

“Nothing! Sorry Plagg, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” Aurelia apologised, releasing Plagg and allowing him to float back to Adrien.

“Get me some cheese and I’ll forgive you.” He huffed. Aurelia relaxed and giggled once more.

“Sounds like a fair deal to me! I could go for splitting a baked camembert right about now.” She admitted. The last world she was in didn’t have cheese, and previous few worlds before that she didn’t really have the time or safety to eat, so it had been a while since she’d had a chance for the treat. For the first time, Aurelia saw Plagg smile at her.

“Keep this up and I think we’ll get along just fine.” He informed with a smug grin.

“Dudes, hurry up! You can have cheese later.” Startled by the voice, Aurelia saw that Nino had already parked the car and had gotten out of his seat. She scrambled out the back seat, quickly jogging to catch up to him as he makes his way towards the lift out of the basement. Stepping out of the lift was a beautiful woman with chestnut skin, volumous dark red hair, and an expression of pure impatience. Judging by that, the glasses, and the mole above her eyebrow, this was Alya.

“There you two are! What took you so…” Alya began to complain, slowly stopping as she noticed Aurelia standing there with them. Deciding that was as good a cue as she was going to get, she stepped forward.

“Hi, my name is Aurelia. It’s so awesome to get to meet you, Alya.” She greeted, extending her arm out for a handshake. Alya accepted, though it was with a look of great confusion.

“Hey, how come you didn’t say it was awesome to meet me?” Nino whined. Aurelia felt her eyes go wide in horror. How could she be so rude to Nino? He was so cool and such a great friend to Adrien exactly when he needed him. Nino was certainly one of the people in this universe she was most excited to meet.

“Oh! I’m sorry! It was definitely awesome to meet you Nino!” She explained enthusiastically, hoping she hadn’t offended him.

“Dude, chill. I’m kidding. You had just been hit by a car when I met you. I’d have to be a huge douchebag to expect any fanfare.” Nino reassured with a soft laugh, patting her on the back playfully. Aurelia sucked air into her mouth silently, trying not to wince. She hadn’t had a moment of privacy to heal the road rash she got from landing so heavily on the road, so her back was still pretty tender. She flinched when an angry gasp emitted from Alya.

“Hit by a _car?!_ Nino it had _better_ not have been you!” Alya almost growled, causing Nino to throw his hands up defensively. As he went on to explain the events from earlier on, Aurelia could see curiosity and excitement flashing in Alya’s eyes. Her gut dropped as she realised how likely it was that she was about to be bombarded with questions that she really didn’t want to answer.

“So you’re from another world? What’s it like there? How many worlds have you visited? Do you travel through some sort of scientific device or is it magic? Do _you_ have magic? How many worlds have real mag– ” Alya began to enquire, before Adrien stepped forward and put his hand in front of her face, gesturing for her to stop.

“Alya, that’s _enough_. She’s been through a lot and she’s not ready to talk about it.” Adrien warned with a surprisingly stern voice. Aurelia didn’t know if she was going to laugh or cry. It had been a while since she’d talked to someone who could read her so well, and she’d never met anyone who would protect her so much.

“Oh, sorry. Sometimes my investigative nature gets the better of me.” Alya apologised, a soft blush tinting her cheeks. Deciding she had cried too much in front of Adrien and Nino, Aurelia breathed deeply and put on a grateful smile.

“It’s alright. Thank you for understanding.” She replied, making sure to address Alya and Adrien as she spoke. Alya wore an odd expression that Aurelia couldn’t decipher, eyes seeming to dart between Adrien and her. Alya opened her mouth, as if she were about to say something, but was interrupted by a vibration sound coming from her pocket. The woman quickly reached in and pulled out a phone, pulling a face as she looked at the screen.

“Oh! It’s Marinette. She’s wondering why we’re taking so long to get up there.” She announced before typing madly into the phone and shoving it back into her pocket. As the adults moved forward towards the elevator, Aurelia found herself frozen on the spot as her stomach dropped and heart rate suddenly picked up speed.

“Marinette? She’s h-here?” She asked, voice coming out weakly. She internally winced at how stupid she sounded. She knew Marinette existed in this universe. She knew she’d wind up crossing paths with her eventually. But still, the idea of seeing her in person was very overwhelming. She was a true hero; somebody she looked up to immensely, just like Adrien. She wanted to tell the pair of them how much she relied on them and how often she would fantasise that they’d rescue her from…

She can’t talk about _that_ yet. Not even to them.

A hand suddenly resting on her shoulder snapped her out of her revere and she looked up to see it belonged to a concerned looking Adrien.

“Are you going to be okay?” He asked with a warm tone. Aurelia smiled and nodded, appreciating his choice of words over something more like ‘are you okay’, which had a far more complicated answer.

“I know Marinette’s going to love you, but if you’d rather wait down here for a bit I can wait with you.” He offered, gesturing to Nino and Alya that it was okay to go on without them. Aurelia shook her head.

“No, it’s okay. I really want to meet her.”

With that, the pair darted into the open elevator, where Alya and Nino had decided to wait anyway. She ignored the confused looks from the couple as they ascended. It was better that she focused on not exploding with nervous energy and mentally preparing herself to meet Marinette. She hadn’t been prepared to meet Adrien, and that resulted with her bursting into tears and attempting to crash tackle him in hysterics. She wasn’t going to do that again. Finally, the elevator stopped and the group made their way past the lines of teens waiting to audition, quickly arriving at the rehearsal room where the closed auditions must have been taking place. She took a deep breath before following Alya and Nino into the room, feeling comforted by Adrien’s presence behind her.

Two steps into the room and Aurelia faltered. One look at Marinette Dupain-Cheng was all it took to undo all the active decisions to not burst into tears again. She didn’t look a whole lot like her cartoon counterpart; she was definitely more visibly part Chinese, and obviously being an adult made strong differences. Surprisingly, she did have blue hair, but it was only the ends and was clearly dyed, the roots of her hair being a deep, nearly black brown. Despite the differences, the energy that radiated from her made it clear that she couldn’t have been anyone but Marinette. The woman felt inherently good, and it made Aurelia feel safe. It was a new sensation that her system wasn’t ready for. Thus, the hugely embarrassing tears that were pouring down her face.

“I-I’m sorry. I should go.” Aurelia stammered out, beginning to back her way out of the room before bumping into Adrien. Stabilising hands landed on her should, holding her in place and preventing her from bolting out of the room. There was an intense expression on Marinette’s face that she couldn’t recognise before she paced towards Aurelia and wrapped her arms around her gently. As Aurelia lifted her arms to hug back, one of the hands on her back slid upwards to soothingly stroke her hair and she felt like she could pass out.

“Adrien, what is going on? Why does this girl have dry blood on the back of her head?” Marinette asked, voice soft but stern.

“She got hit by a car and landed pretty harshly. She can’t go to a hospital so I’m keeping an eye on her in case she has a concussion or something.” At his answer, the arms around Aurelia tightened as Marinette gasped. Aurelia felt the guilt building up in her chest. She’d already delayed everyone’s day enough.

“I feel fine now. _Please_ don’t worry!” She attempted to reassure. Marinette leaned backwards, shifting one hand to her shoulder and the other to her cheek.

“Honey, you don’t have to be fine. It’s no trouble for us to take care of you until you’ve fully recovered. Now, how about we get you cleaned up so I can have a look at where you’re hurt and then we can sit in on some auditions. That sound good?” She suggested with a warm smile. Aurelia awkwardly nodded, before she found herself being gently guided back out the room.

“Dani, send in the first auditionee.” She heard Alya say from the other side of the door. Silently, Marinette took Aurelia to a small room with a sink, a white box, and a weird looking mental bed with a thin mattress on it. She sort of recognised it from a television show or a movie she’d seen, but couldn’t quite remember if it was called a cot or a gurney. Marinette led her to sit on the weird bed, before turning to grab the white box. Aurelia watched on curiously as she pulled white fabric out of little plastic bags, wet it in the sink, and began wiping the dried blood out of her hair. Marinette then tugged slightly on her shirt, indicating to hike it up and turn so she could see her back. Aurelia obliged, shifting her position so twisting around was more comfortable.

“You don’t have to explain what happened to you or why you reacted like that, I only want to know one thing. Do your parents know you’re here?” Marinette asked, breaking the silence. A second later, she felt the damp cloth return to her head, only this time it stung, causing her to hiss.

“My father is dead and…I don’t have a mother. I think. I don’t know, really.” Aurelia answered, not sure how much she should explain. She held back a flinch as the cloth began stinging her back.

“Is there anyone that takes care of you that might be looking for you?” Marinette continued to question; voice soft with concern. Aurelia couldn’t help but smile at the idea.

“That would be amazing.” She sighed. For a few moments, she heard no movement from the woman behind her. She was beginning to think she’d said something wrong when suddenly she heard the sound of the box closing loudly.

“Well, your head and back don’t look as bad as they could. It should all heal quite quickly, but please feel free to hang around for as long as you like. Adrien and I have a spare room you can stay in and I know he won’t have any objections.” Aurelia’s eyes widened as she turned back to look at Marinette, who was smiling reassuringly at her.

“Really?” Marinette laughed at the question as she tugged Aurelia’s shirt back down before giving her a little pat on the cheek.

“Yes, really. Now, let’s pop back into the auditions.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Decisions get made, paths get crossed, and fires get put out. But not in that order.


	4. Now that's (not) a Meet Cute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the audition process continues, Marinette begins to see what Alya was talking about. Maybe playing matchmaker will bring the gang's energy back up?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, it was strangely hard to focus on writing this chapter, but I decided to steamroll my way through it to finally get it out. Sorry for how long it took, and thanks to anyone waiting for your patience!

Marinette bit back a yawn as the teenage boy in the centre of the room delivered the Adrien dialogue she’d heard way too many times for it to make any sense any more. This one was delivering each line as if it were a cheesy line from a trashy romance novel as he posed like an Instagram thirst trap. It was funny when he did it through the Chat Noir lines, but now it was apparent that it was the only way this kid knew how to deliver lines at all.

“Okay, I think I have enough to go on. Did anybody else have any questions?” Alya asked, turning to face the rest of the table. Marinette shook her head before glancing to her other side, where Adrien and Aurelia were currently huddling over a notepad, clearly not paying attention to what was going on. Gently, Marinette cleared her throat, causing Adrien to glance up at her. She saw a confused look in his eyes, telling her that he really had no idea what was going on. Subtly she shook her head as she maintained eye contact with him.

“Nope, no questions from me. I’ve got everything I need.” He answered with a smile, tapping his notepad with his pen. Adrien was lucky the two of them were so freakishly good at non-verbal communication. As dull as the boys performance was, he didn’t deserve the embarrassment of realising that the guy he was auditioning for wasn’t bothering to pay attention to him. After the standard explanation of how long he should expect to wait to find out if he will progress to the chemistry reads, the boy was dismissed back into the waiting room, allowing Marinette and the rest of the team to sag with relief.

“Adrien, are you serious? That was the last audition we had to see before the chemistry reads, your attention span couldn’t have lasted for five more minutes?” She groaned, rubbing her temples tiredly.

“Five more minutes? I’ve been struggling to pay attention since we came back from lunch! The only way I’ve been able to even remember any of the auditionees has been Aurelia’s portraits.” Adrien lamented dramatically. Rolling her eyes, Marinette leaned over and plucked the notepad out from between the blonde pair. On the most recent page was a drawing of a winking Chat Noir with enormous lips and a caption next to it that read “Chat Mwah”. Turning back a page, there was an incredibly snooty version of Adrien that had an expression of detecting a bad smell with the caption “Adrien Deteste”, which made sense when she recalled the second to last boy they saw. Flicking through quickly, she saw each page was filled with a little caricature with a pun title. Marinette sighed, regretting the choice to let Adrien and Aurelia sit together. At least they were distracting each other quietly.

“Keep it together people, let’s decide whether we want this Keith kid for the chemistry reads or not so Dani can update the board and let some of these kids go home.” Alya commanded, clapping her hands together for everyone’s attention.

“I vote against. He was very one note and boring. One of the more charismatic and dynamic boys would be better.” Marinette commented.

“But it’s possible he was only giving one note because he was confused and thought he had to deliver both parts the same because they’re the same character. Maybe he’d do better with some direction.” Nino countered.

“Yeah, I agree. He did pretty well at the awkward, cheesy flirting as Chat Noir, so let’s see if he can take notes on changing up his Adrien delivery.” Alya added.

“Hey! I was never as bad as that kid! He was pouting the entire audition! I never pout!” Adrien complained, crossing his arms in a huff. Marinette couldn’t help but giggle at his expression.

“Honey, you’re pouting right now.” She teased, causing Aurelia to join her giggling.

“No, this is grumpy pouting. It’s completely different!” Adrien retorted, before cracking into a smile, unable to commit to the bit.

“We might as well give him a chance to see if he’ll take direction. We haven’t exactly given Ying Yue a lot of boys to read against.” Alya rationalised, signalling to Dani to go ahead with the update.

“Ying Yue and the other girls. It’s not locked in yet until you actually see how she acts.” Marinette corrected. Nino let out an offended little gasp.

“Wait, are you telling me you put her through without even auditioning her?” He asked. Alya rolled her eyes, as if expecting this reaction.

“Relax Nino, I didn’t need to see her audition. She gave the perfect performance outside. I am one hundred percent convinced she is the one.” She explained, before her eyes widened with excitement.

“Oh! I never showed you guys! Come check it out!” Alya exclaimed, gesturing for Adrien and Aurelia to come look at her tablet as she dragged Nino’s seat closer. Having already seen the video, Marinette stayed in her seat, instead opting to watch everyone else’s reactions to the video.

“ _Do you seriously think you’ll be able to lose the weight before they start filming? I’m not sure there would be enough time. Ladybug is skinny! How delusional can you be if you think you stand a cha –_ ”

“ _Enough!_ ”

Very quickly, the faces watching the video switched from anger to surprise. As Ying Yue continued her speech, Adrien and Nino were getting increasingly excited, which was exactly what she was expecting. Giving righteous speeches had somehow become her brand, so she knew they’d think it was perfect that they found a girl who could give one in real life, regardless of if she’d be able to act out any other aspect of her personality. The look on Aurelia’s face however, caught Marinette off guard. With her eyes wide and sparkling with wonder and her jaw dropped, it was a look she had received from a very special boy since she was thirteen that took far too long for her to understand the full meaning of.

“I see what you mean, Alya. She’s – ”

“Incredible…” Aurelia interrupted, eyes stuck on the screen looking completely mesmerised. Marinette was in a wonderful vantage point to see everyone else in the room slowly turn to look at Aurelia and appear to have the same realisation together.

“Aurelia, would you like to meet Ying Yue?” Alya asked, barely concealing her devious grin. Finally snapped out of her daze, Aurelia looks up at Alya with the purest look of excitement that Marinette had seen since she had told Adrien they could get rescue dogs.

“Yes! She seems amazing, of course I’d love to meet her.” Aurelia responded with unrestrained enthusiasm. Marinette couldn’t help but giggle softly at the girl’s genuine glee. It was just so cute and reminded her so much of Adrien when he was younger.

“Okay, let’s go, then.” Alya announced. The smile on Aurelia’s face immediately dropped.

“What?! Right now? I’m not ready!” She yelled in a panic. Alya rolled her eyes, as if to say “here we go again”, before getting up out of her seat.

“We need to go down there anyway to talk to all the auditionees, so it’s up to you if you want to come with us.” Alya explained with a gentle, patient smile that can only be perfected by experience.

“Come on, lil’ dudette! You can do it! We believe in you!” Nino cheered supportively, giving her a thumbs up before hopping up out of his sit and joining Alya, the pair breaking into a conversation about how they were going to handle the next phase of auditioning as they exited the room. Seeing that Aurelia hadn’t gotten out of her seat yet, Marinette dropped out of hers and knelt in front of her as Adrien placed a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder. Thinking back to what she would have needed back in the day to talk to Adrien, Marinette knew the girl needed both encouragement and a push.

“Now Aurelia, you absolutely do not have to talk to her yet if you’re not ready. But, you should keep in mind that as Alya and Nino’s top choice, she’ll be pretty busy until she has to go for the evening and you might miss your chance to meet her.” Marinette explained, causing the girl to look as though she were weighing up her options.

“I’m going to give you advice that I gave to myself every time I was about to talk to My Lady: If you can survive falling sixty feet in the air and getting hit by a car, you can talk to the pretty girl.” Adrien said in a teasing voice, eliciting a giggle from Aurelia. Marinette winced as she recalled the story Adrien told her during lunch about how he met Aurelia. Thinking about what the girl had already been through today alone, she was almost tempted to just pack up and take her back to their place, give her a nice, warm, home-cooked meal and set up a room for her so she can get a good night’s rest in a safe home. But, she had promised her friend that she would help, so that would all have to wait. Marinette stood, holding a hand out to Aurelia. Winning a soft, trusting smile from her, she took the offered hand and rose to her feet. As the three left the room, Marinette and Adrien walked on either side of Aurelia, answering whatever questions she had as they made their way down the stairs and through a set of double doors into a fairly large room. In the end closest to them, it appeared that Nino had finished his announcement to the auditionees about how the chemistry reads were going to be run, and he was now taking a question from one of the boys. Alya was very unsubtly pointing towards a girl that was walking away from them towards the catering table.

“Remember, the most important thing to remember about a first impression is that you need to just be yourself. It might be tempting to put on a suave persona to give yourself courage, but trust me, being yourself works way better in the long run.” Adrien advised, definitely from experience. Aurelia nodded seriously at him, before turning back to Ying Yue.

“Be myself. Be myself. Just…be myself…” She chanted lowly to herself as she began to approach her target.

“Is it weird how excited I am for them to meet?” Alya asked, having popped out of nowhere and nearly giving Marinette a heart attack.

“No, I get it. They remind me so much of Buginette and me when we first met.” Adrien replied with a grin, slinking closer to Marinette and wrapping an arm around her waist.

“Kitty, the first two times we met were disasters.” Marinette pointed out with a raised eyebrow, winning a laugh from Adrien.

“True, but I don’t see any yo-yos or chewing gum, so what could go wrong?” He quipped back, pressing a kiss into her cheek before she could see him return his gaze to the scene in front of them. Aurelia was about halfway to Ying Yue when suddenly a pair of girls Marinette was sure she didn’t remember putting on the call back list flew past Aurelia towards Ying Yue. One of the girls quickly made her way in front of Ying Yue and stopped her in conversation. Wondering what was up, Marinette almost didn’t notice the other girl sneaking up behind Ying Yue, splashing the contents of a colourful vial onto the back of her shirt, only registering what was happening when the girl flicked on a lighter and held it to Ying Yue’s back, sprinting away as soon as the shirt lit on fire.

“Oh, _fuck_!” the three adults uttered before bolting towards Ying Yue to help. When they got about halfway, Marinette watched in horror as Aurelia had caught up to Ying Yue and was in the middle of flinging a bucket of water onto her. Marinette’s heart stopped as she waited to see if the water would spread the fire or smother it. As Ying Yue gasped with shock as suddenly being completely drenched, Marinette released a heavy sigh of relief that there was enough water to completely smother the flames. The logical side of her brain was begging to know where the bucket had even come from and how it held such an impossible amount of water, she put the thought aside to focus on making sure the girl wasn’t hurt.

As Ying Yue slowly turned around, arms and shoulders completely clenched, the two girls who had set up the fire attack burst into laughter. Ying Yue looked between the laughing girls and Aurelia who still held the bucket, before a furious expression washed over her face.

“Oh I see what’s going on here. You three wanted to get back at me for getting your bully friend kicked out of auditions by soaking me right before the chemistry reads?” Ying Yue growled.

“N-No! You were on fire! I was only trying to put it out!” Aurelia defending, voice loud with panic. Ying Yue scoffed.

“Do you really expect me to believe that? Your friend thought she could get away with how she was treating everyone, and now you think you can get away with treating someone like this? Ugh! You rich, entitled, blonde brats are all the same!” Ying Yue shouted with righteous rage. Before Aurelia could stammer out another defence, Ying Yue stormed off to the women’s bathroom. As Alya angrily charged after the real culprits, Marinette’s heart broke as she watched Aurelia drop the bucket and slump as she stared down at it.

“That was way worse than yo-yos and chewing gum…” She heard Adrien comment from beside her, tone riddled with guilt.

“Adrien, this didn’t happen just because you said “what could go wrong”. Don’t blame yourself.” Marinette reassured, turning to him and rubbing him gently on his upper back. His face twisted into a slight grimace as he squirmed.

“We don’t know how the luck stuff really works, so it theoretically could be my fault.” He argued. Marinette sighed. He had a point. Over the years, no matter how much the pair of them tried to understand how their passive fortune and misfortune magic worked, there just never seemed to be any measurable pattern to it.

“What was all that yelling about? Also why is my wife strong arming two teenage girls to a wall?” Nino asked as he walked up on the other side of Adrien.

“Those two girls tried to set Ying Yue on fire – ”

“What the fuck?! That is so messed up! Who does shit like that?” Nino exclaimed, eyebrows basically crashing through the ceiling.

“Yeah, I’m hoping this is an extreme and not a standard for teen bullying these days. Luckily Aurelia managed to put the fire out before she even noticed she was on fire.” Marinette continued to explain.

“But there was a misunderstanding that made it look like Aurelia was in on some cruel prank with them. Just look at her. She’s devastated.” Adrien added with an empathetic groan, gesturing to Aurelia as she now sat facing the bathroom, posture completely defeated.

“We should talk to her.” Marinette suggested.

“No! I mean, you guys talk to her. I’d probably make it worse. I’m…going to go get security and call the police.” Before either her or Nino could argue with him, Adrien had dashed out of the room. Seeing the worried look on Nino’s face, she knew he was feeling the same way.

“Don’t worry, Nino. I’ll talk to him later once he’s had time to calm down. Right now, we need to focus on a different blonde.” Marinette comforted, before gesturing back to Aurelia.

“Actually, why don’t you go help Alya with our little arsonists? I think I have a pretty good idea what to say to Aurelia.” Nino suggested.

“Really? Are you sure?” Nino chuckled fondly at her question.

“Let’s just say, I have a bit of experience with this kind of thing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to you-know-what, hopefully the next chapter will be ready soon. In the meantime, I'd love to hear your thoughts so far! Having trouble writing certain parts of the story because I just want to write later parts instead has been tricky, so if there's parts you like or think aren't working, any feedback would probably help me figure out how to write future chapters better, so please don't be shy with letting me know what you think!


	5. DJ Vu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nino is the best support a socially awkward lesbian can ask for

_Stupid…So stupid…_

Aurelia allowed the bucket to drop to the floor, feeling herself sink to the floor as she mentally berated herself. Did she really think it could be as simple as going up to her and introducing herself? It was never that simple. Something always happened to get in the way, and things had been going way too smoothly today so of course it went this horribly. Turning herself towards the bathroom the drenched girl had run into, she fretted further. Would Ying Yue ever let her apologise? Would Aurelia have to explain the truth in order for Ying Yue to believe she was only trying to help? Aurelia’s eyes widened when she suddenly realised something. She used summoning magic in a room full of people while _at least_ Marinette and Adrien were watching her. Would they rescind their offer to let her stay with them if they knew she had magic? Would they be scared of her? Aurelia’s breathing grew shallow and quick as panic set in. The logical part of her brain was trying to tell her that what happened in those other worlds wouldn’t happen here, that as magic users themselves Marinette and Adrien wouldn’t banish her over something like this. Just as the logic was setting in and calming her, the scared part of her mind chimed in.

_They won’t hate you, but will they protect you when those who would fear you eventually come?_

The thought spiked her anxiety back up. Would they risk themselves for someone they barely know? Suddenly, a large hand landed gently on her back, startling her out of her spiral with a small yelp.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you okay?” She turned to see the voice and the hand belonged to Nino, who was crouching beside her wearing a warm, understanding expression.

“I…I didn’t even get a chance to talk to her before everything went wrong. She’ll never want to be my friend, let alone – never mind. It was stupid for me to think…” As Aurelia mumbled her lament, she ended her words before she said something that would have given away too much. Nino’s eyes scrunched up slightly with empathy before shifting his hand to her shoulder and pulling her into a side hug. He had grown a lot as an adult, if the cartoons were accurate to his size in this world. Even sitting down, he still towered over her, and with his arm pulling her into his warm side, she couldn’t help but feel safe despite how anxious she was feeling.

“I know it’s not exactly the same, but I can’t help but be reminded of how my man Adrien and Marinette first met. I don’t know if the show you watched went into it, but it wasn’t exactly a perfect first impression.” Nino spoke softly with a fond tone.

“He was trying to get gum off her seat and she thought he was putting it there?” Aurelia questioned, wondering if what she knew was accurate. Nino chuckled.

“Yep, that’s the one. But it was all good in the end. Do you remember why?” He probed.

“Because he gave her an umbrella when it was raining and she fell in love with him? Are you saying I should wait until it rains and give her an umbrella? Where do you even buy umbrellas?” Aurelia rambled, feeling her face stretch with bewilderment. Nino let out a hearty laugh, and the warm sound almost made Aurelia not care that he was probably laughing at her.

“Wow, I thought you were just like Adrien, but you’ve got a little Marinette in you too.” He commented, causing her to smile to herself shyly. Nothing felt better than being compared to your heroes, even if it’s in a way that is probably making fun of you.

“She didn’t fall in love with him because he gave her an umbrella. She fell in love with him because he let himself be vulnerable in front of her and was kind regardless of how she treated him.” Nino explained. Aurelia narrowed her eyes in confusion.

“Be…vulnerable?”

“Yeah, dude. Letting yourself be emotionally vulnerable in front of someone is one of the bravest things you can do. It’s why Marinette changed her mind about Adrien, and why Alya gave me a chance. But you’ll never have a chance to change Ying Yue’s mind about you if you never try, so get in there already!” Nino exclaimed, hopping to his feet and pumping a fist into the air enthusiastically. Aurelia gulped as she looked between Nino and the bathroom door. If she went in there, would Ying Yue give her a chance to talk, or would she run off again?

_I’ve got to at least try._

* * *

Ying Yue scowled as she squeezed the water out of her hair with several paper towels for the umpteenth time. She had already done her best to not smudge her eye makeup around drying her face, so she really didn’t want to ruin that effort by starting to cry. She wasn’t going to give those girls the satisfaction of making her cry. They’d just think it was the stupid prank that got her so upset when really it was the fact that those spoiled brats thinking that the consequences of their own actions entitled them to revenge.

_How hard is it to just admit you did something wrong?_

Ying Yue scoffed at the thought, thinking back to the girl who had dumped the water on her. She had the nerve to make up some flimsy excuse for dumping over a litre of water on her. It was such a stupid lie it almost made her laugh. Before she could, a cold shiver ran down her body, the chill from being soaked finally catching up to her rage fuelled adrenaline rush. She tugged off her shirt as she paced over to the air dryer. She stopped in her tracks with a gasp as she held the shirt in front of her, scorch marks clear as day.

“I really was just trying to put the fire out.” No matter how soft the voice that came from behind her was, the unexpected presence made her yelp and flinch with surprise. Ying Yue whipped around to see the girl from before standing nervously by the bathroom door. The girl winced, expression growing more forlorn.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. I didn’t mean to soak you either, I just got so scared when I saw you on fire and panicked.” The girl apologised, fidgeting with the cuff of her sleeve. Her stunning green eyes shimmered with moisture and her lips trembled, truly looking remorseful.

“H-How do I know that the water wasn’t just part of the prank? There wasn’t a conveniently placed bucket of water sitting in the middle of the room. Do you expect me to believe that it appeared magically or something?” Ying Yue retorted, determined not to let her resolve melt from pretty eyes and pouty lips. The girl’s eyes shut and her breathing grew rapid, brow furrowing as she bit her lip. Suddenly her eyes opened and despite her nerves steeling over some sort of decision, she had an expression of vulnerability written all over her face. She held her hands out, and after mumbling some incomprehensible words, there was suddenly a bucket of water in her hands.

Ying Yue blinked several times, trying to make sense of what just happened. The girl definitely didn’t have the bucket with her when she came in, and she definitely hadn’t moved enough to have pulled the bucket out from somewhere in the split second it appeared. The girl softly spoke more words she didn’t understand, and the bucket vanished.

“I promise I wasn’t a part of that cruel prank. I swear I don’t know those girls. I…I don’t really know anybody. With every world I come to, I try not to let people know about my magic. They don’t usually understand it. They assume I am dangerous and they tell me to stay away. I’m telling you because maybe if you know me, you’ll let me know you.” The girl confessed in a raw, but soft voice. She lifted her eyes and locked them with Ying Yue’s, the sudden eye contact sending shivers down her spine. Appearing to notice the shiver, the girl looked her up and down before shucking her black, long-sleeved midriff top off and holding it out for her to take.

“Here. It’s not as nice as the top you had, but it’s dry. You’ll need to wear something if you want to completely own the chemistry reads. I hear you’re the director’s top choice, and I agree.” The girl complimented with a sincere smile. Ying Yue found herself staring at the shirt, bewildered by the offer. Somehow, expecting the worst from this girl and treating her as such did nothing to dissuade her from showing kindness back. Ying Yue trailed her eyes past the shirt and up the toned arm, darting down to the subtle hint of a six pack peeking out above high-waisted tights before quickly scanning her eyes up past the sports bra and focusing on the girl’s face, where someone who wasn’t a perv would look. The smile on the girl’s face was beginning to falter, and it dawned on Ying Yue that it was taking her too long to respond.

_Pull it together!_

“Yank thu – I mean, th-thank you!” Ying Yue stammered, cringing internally at her words and the blush that was exploding across her face as she grabbed the shirt from the girl’s hand. A sad look flashed in the girls eyes, before her expression reset to a warm, but awkward smile.

“I’ll just go and let you get changed. Maybe we can talk again after the chemistry tests?” She asked, backing away towards the door and pausing as she waited for an answer.

“Yes! Definitely!” Ying Yue replied, hoping her enthusiasm wasn’t a deterrent. The girl’s eyes lit up with joy before she nodded with a big grin and darted out of the room with a spring in her step. It was only when she began to feel light headed and a soreness in her cheeks that Ying Yue realised that her heart was racing and her face still stretched into a smile. Turning to the mirror, she saw that she was still blushing intensely.

“You’ve got it bad…and you don’t even know what her name is.” She groaned at her reflection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: How is Ying Yue meant to have chemistry with these boys when she can't stop thinking about the girl sitting with the judging panel? How is Adrien meant to survive Wave 2 of teen boys portraying him as some sort of horny flirt? What are Nino and Alya scheming about?


	6. Looking for Chemistry

_‘The police are done questioning Aurelia. I think you should come talk to her.’_

Adrien sighed at the message, before putting his phone back into his pocket.

“Really? You’re not even going to respond to your wife?” Plagg asked with a judgemental tone, peering up at his human from his hiding place within his jacket.

“I’ve almost calmed down. I just need more time.” Adrien responded softly, not wanting the officers on the other side of the foyer to hear him.

“How much time do you need? In the time it’s taken for you to stop freaking out about causing bad luck, the police have arrived, detained those two harpies and collected witness statements from a dozen people. Are you waiting for them to finish their paperwork before you can face one magical teenager? Are you ever even going to talk to her about that, by the way?” Plagg complained, wriggling with discontent. Adrien scrunched his brow and frowned.

“She’ll talk about it when she’s ready.” He stated. As disappointed as he was that she didn’t seem to trust him enough to tell him, he understood more than most how important it was to keep magic a secret.

“I just think it’s better if I wait until everything calms down before going back in there. I don’t want to tip the scales in a bad way.” He added. Plagg let out a small growl.

“For the last time, you didn’t make any of that happen! Our magic doesn’t work like that! People make choices and those girls made an awful choice! That’s all there is to it!” Plagg exclaimed with a hiss, clearly frustrated by the circles they were going in. Adrien scoffed. Forgive him for not believing the little kwami, but considering his story on how the magic worked frequently changed to suit whatever he was trying to convince Adrien of, he had trouble taking him at his word.

“Adrien Agreste?” A voice called out from across the foyer.

“I already gave my statement to another officer.” He replied, not bothering to look up. It felt rude, but warranted. Ever since his father was arrested, he’d found that most officers were keen to be “the one that got Adrien Agreste to confess”. Turns out being proven innocent in court is not enough for some people.

“Is that any way to treat an old friend?” The question being enough to pull more of his attention, Adrien realised he recognised the voice and looked up with a big smile on his face.

“Chloe!” He greeted with cheer. Standing across the hall of the foyer was Chloe Bourgeois in full uniform rolling her eyes.

“That’s Lieutenant Bourgeois to you!” She reprimanded with a smirk, before prowling forward until she was halfway between where she was and where he sat. Changed as she was, Chloe was never going to be the type of person to meet someone more than halfway. Adrien chuckled to himself as he paced over to her and pulled her into a hug.

“I didn’t realise you were on this case!” He stated, stepping out of the hug as to remain somewhat professional. With a smug expression, Chloe flipped her ponytail behind her shoulder.

“I’m helping out by using my charm to speed up the prosecutor’s office granting permission for arrest of a minor. I’m the queen of using daddy to get out of problems I caused, so I’m the most qualified person to stop these girls from pulling any stunts. The sooner they get serious punishment for what they’ve done, the more likely they’ll be able to turn around and improve as people.” Chloe explained, using her rare, serious tone. Adrien fake gasped and clutched at his chest.

“Is the great Chloe Bourgeois showing empathy?” He teased dramatically.

“Fuck off, you can’t make fun of me. Marinette said you were moping in here because you think you gave some girl bad luck.” Adrien winced at her comment. For a moment there he didn’t have to think about that.

“Her name’s Aurelia, right? She’s the one who looks like you in a wig?” Chloe asked, causing Adrien to scrunch up his nose.

“I wouldn’t put it that way.” He said, not necessarily arguing with that she said. He really did look quite androgynous when he was younger, and with some contouring the girl could be a dead ringer for him.

“Whatever. She’s completely fine, so you’re moping around for nothing.” Chloe informed dismissively.

“She’s fine?”

“That’s what I said, isn’t it? She even seemed kinda pumped about something. She’s probably really excited to tell you but you’re making her wait so long.” Chloe continued, attempting to look as disinterested as possible. Adrien knew better. This was her trying to make him feel better. Funnily enough, it worked. With a grateful smile he pulled her into a big hug again.

“Thanks Chloe. Let me know when you want to catch up over some coffee and shopping, okay?” He farewelled warmly.

“I’ll have my people call your people.” She replied sarcastically but with a smile.

Darting back into the room, he found Alya and Nino apologising to the auditionees about the delay, letting them know that the chemistry reads will take place in the concert hall in five minutes which should give them time to text their guardians about the delay. At the back of the room, Marinette was standing with Aurelia who was now wearing his black zip-up hoodie that Marinette had claimed. She was talking to Marinette very animatedly, oversized sleeves flopping up and down as she did a little wiggly dance. Adrien chuckled softly to himself at the sight that reminded him so much of Marinette when she was younger. As he approached, the conversation became clearer.

“ – and then she said we could talk after the chemistry reads! Although, now that I think about it, she’s definitely going to get the part, so maybe she won’t have time to talk because she’ll want to celebrate right away. I bet she has lots of friends and she’ll want to call all of them. Maybe when she gets home her family will have a big cake that says “congratulations!” on it! I saw a cake like that in a movie once. I bet cakes like that taste even better than a normal cake. Do your parents still run a bakery?” Aurelia ranted quickly. Marinette smiled fondly at the girl and he fell in love for the billionth time.

“Yes, and it’s still the best in all of Paris! I’m working tomorrow, but Adrien could probably take you for breakfast.” She offered, looking up at Adrien and tilting her head towards him. Aurelia followed her line of sight and when she noticed him, her eyes lit up.

“Adrien! I did it! I talked to her and she forgave me! I think! I’m not actually sure because she seemed kind of scared of me, but she said she wants to talk to me! That’s good, right?” She announced excitedly to him, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she looked up at him with bright eyes.

“You gave her your shirt, she better have forgiven you.” Marinette commented with a sigh. Adrien couldn’t help but laugh when he heard what happened.

“I have it on good authority that girls love it when you take your shirt off in front of them.” He joked, sending a wink at his wife, who promptly scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“Really?” Aurelia asked, voice laced with curiosity. Adrien felt his eye twitch and he shifted his gaze back to the teenage girl in front of him. Her innocence was cute, but it scared him.

“N-No, I was only joking. Please don’t go around taking shirts off to impress people.” He urged frantically. His change in tone seemed to confuse her, causing him to dread whatever line of questioning was coming his way.

“Come on, you two. We should head over to the hall to watch the chemistry reads.” Marinette intercepted, allowing him to sigh in relief as he followed her out the room. His lady was a hero through and through.

~

Marinette was at the end of her rope. As glad as she was that both Adrien and Aurelia had cheered up, she was beginning to regret the mischief that came with it. It didn’t help that she completely agreed with them that some of these portrayals were ridiculous, but one of them had to be the responsible one. Even if she wanted to laugh at Adrien’s impression of “Bat Noir”, the nickname Aurelia gave to the boy who decided that Chat Noir needed a deep, gravelly voice.

“Okay, thank you! For the next pairing, can I see…Keith and Ying Yue?” Nino called out, displaying his talent for ignoring Adrien’s antics after years of practise of having to sit next to him in class. The pouty boy strutted his way onto the stage with a practised grace, quickly followed by a nervous looking Ying Yue. Looking over their information, she wasn’t surprised to see that aside from a couple of commercials, the majority of Keith’s previous gigs were for modelling. She was surprised to see that Ying Yue was a trained figure skater, but she figured the athletic training would come in handy for the show.

“You two know the drill; first have a go at the scripted dialogue between Adrien and Marinette, then we want to see some improv between Chat Noir and Ladybug.” Alya repeated the instructions, unable to completely hide her boredom.

“Keith, keep in mind that Adrien behaves differently to Chat Noir. He’s shy, studious, and considerate. Ying Yue, keep up whatever energy you’re giving off right now.” Nino directed, before giving them the nod to begin. Marinette sunk into herself as the scene was acted out with just as much embarrassment as the first eight times she had watched it. Ying Yue was doing a great job at making the performance authentic and Marinette swore she could almost hear the girl thinking “don’t look like an idiot, don’t look like an idiot” on repeat. But that wasn’t what was embarrassing Marinette. Ying Yue’s rendition was actually refreshing from the previous versions, who all seemed to think the nervous dialogue was funny and were leaning into it. Ying Yue appeared to understand that she didn’t like looking like a babbling fool in front of the boy she liked and actually played it that way, rather than trying to milk laughs out of the audience. What was making Marinette cringe was the way Keith was acting. He’d pose as if rubbing his neck and smoulder at Ying Yue as he delivered his lines. It didn’t feel like a person, it felt like a live performance of an Instagram thirst trap.

“Somebody cataclysm me.” She heard Adrien mumble under his breath. She expected to hear Aurelia laugh at him, so when she didn’t Marinette glanced over to see the girl had a slight frown on her face as she watched the stage.

“Now for the improv. Keith, feel free to joke around. Ying Yue, we want to see some Ladybug confidence.” Nino instructed. Marinette tapped the reminder she had written on Alya’s note pad.

“Oh! Don’t forget that Ladybug doesn’t hate the jokes, she just doesn’t think it’s an appropriate time for them because they are meant to be working. If you see an opening for back and forth, take it.” Alya chimed in. Ying Yue gave a determined nod at the direction and took a focused breath as she prepared to start.

“Good evening, milady. You are looking absolutely ravishing tonight.” Keith greeted with a flirty tone, taking Ying Yue’s hand and going in to press a kiss onto it, but was interrupted by Ying Yue pulling her hand away while pushing his face away with her free hand. Marinette held back a scoff at the way it looked like the boy resisted being pushed away, like he was trying to get the kiss in anyway. Adrien always only needed a gentle touch to be guided away from her hand, as if it was a dance.

“Focus Chat Noir. The sooner this patrol is over, the sooner I can go to bed. I have a physics test tomorrow that I don’t want to be tired for.” Ying Yue said with a dismissive tone, rolling her eyes before walking towards the front of the stage and scanning her eyes over the audience, acting out looking for danger. The line was probably revealing too much information about her identity, but Marinette enjoyed the portrayal. Keith prowled up to the girl and leaned in close.

“Are you sure it’s not a biology exam? Because I sure would like to examine your biology.” He flirted in a husky tone. Marinette blanched at the overtly suggestive line. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the first boy to play her chaton this way. None of them seemed to get that he was romantic and silly.

_They are playing fourteen year-olds! Why do they think this is appropriate?_

Beside her, she heard Aurelia scoff with disapproval.

“That wasn’t clever at all! He could have said “I thought you’d be good at physics. After all, I always find myself gravitating towards you”, or “are you sure it’s not a chemistry test? Because I can feel the chemistry between us!”. What an amateur!” Aurelia complained. Marinette groaned with a smile. She was pretty sure Adrien had said something similar to that last one before. On Marinette’s other side, she could vaguely hear Nino and Alya whispering to each other about something.

“Okay, that’s enough. It’s looking like it’s really hard for a lot of you boys to really understand the sense of humour Chat Noir has, so we’re going to have Aurelia here give a little character demonstration and see if that helps.” Nino announced, gesturing to the teen.

“Yes!” Aurelia cheered as she burst out of her seat and strut towards the stage. Instead of walking around to go up the stairs, she opted to take the most direct route and did a one hand vault onto the stage.

“Listen up tomcats! If you want to nail your Chat Noir, it’s im _purr_ tant that you understand his motivation, so put yourself in his boots. Being Chat Noir is freedom from a life where you’re expected to be seen and never heard. During the fight with Coeur de Pierre Ladybug trusted _you_ and decided to be brave despite being terrified when facing Le Papillon. You learned that she can do anything, and you would do anything for her. You don’t just think she’s pretty, you _love_ her.” Aurelia explained, projecting boldly to the room. Marinette felt her eyes start to water as she heard the speech. Quickly, she slid into the empty chair between herself and Adrien and took his hand, pressing a kiss into it before pulling him into a hug. Even after hearing it so many times, it softened her up every time to hear how much Adrien had always loved her.

“So that’s why when you’re bantering with her, it’s important that you’re not just saying things to try to get into her pants. You joke and flirt because she makes you so happy you can’t think straight and suddenly the most important thing in the world is trying to make her smile. Even if you don’t make her smile, you love it when she rolls her eyes at your puns. It makes you think of your future with her when she and your future children are groaning at your dad jokes.” Aurelia continued. Marinette giggled at the image of Adrien embarrassing their future children with his silly puns. She really hoped that was still on the table. When they found out that Gabriel was Le Papillon Adrien stopped talking about having kids. 

“Here’s an example of a “so bad it’s funny” pick up line that you might use to try to get her to groan or roll her eyes at you, even though she thinks it’s a little funny.” She adds, pausing to run over to the side of the stage to pick up a broom that had been left there. She rests it over her shoulders and drapes her hands over it, before strolling casually back to Ying Yue.

“It’s just as well for you that we can’t see the stars in Paris through the pollution.” Aurelia comments, pretending to glance up at the night sky. Ying Yue gives her a confused look.

“What? Why?” She questions, clearly wondering where this was going. Aurelia swung the broom around so that she was holding it like a cane and leant in to Ying Yue with a shit-eating grin that could have been copy-pasted from Chat Noir.

“The stars are the only things in existence that could rival your eyes in beauty.” Aurelia revealed in a jokingly debonair voice. Beside her, Adrien cackled childishly at the pick up line, clearly proud. She watched Ying Yue, waiting for her to roll her eyes and look unimpressed in response. She was pretty surprised when the teenage girl began blushing intensely and began stammering incoherently. Aurelia gave a light chuckle.

“That’s the perfect Marinette impression, ma belle. Have you forgotten you are meant to be Ladybug for this?” She teased playfully. A surge of panic visibly flashes across Ying Yue’s face. After her eyes darted between Aurelia and the audition panel a few times, she gave a fairly loud groan and started backing away towards the stairs.

“I’m sorry! There must have been some sort of mistake. I’m not an actor, auditioning for this was just getting myself out there again. I-I’m not good enough. If I can’t even do _this_ right, how am I meant to…to…I don’t even know.” Ying Yue cried out. Aurelia’s grin, having dropped since seeing Ying Yue’s reaction to her tease, was now replaced by a very serious expression as she paced over to Ying Yue and held her by the shoulders.

“Hey, look at me. Don’t look at anyone else, just me. I saw the video of what happened earlier. You’re incredible, strong, and good. That’s why you’re here. You saved that girl from a bully and rallied that entire room together, which was the most Ladybug thing you could do. That spark is why they want you for this part, so it doesn’t matter how much experience you have. I know you can do this; I can feel it. So just trust me on this, okay?” Aurelia reassured confidently. Even from her seat in the auditorium, Marinette could see the shine in Ying Yue’s eyes as she looked up into Aurelia’s and the exact moment the girl decided to believe her words.

“Okay.” Ying Yue replied, gaining a smile as she nodded up at Aurelia. Marinette was hit with a dizzying amount of déjà vu. In an instant, she was a teenager again standing in front of the Eiffel Tower about to confront Le Papillon. She could see herself in Ying Yue, and she could see Adrien in Aurelia.

“That girl needs to play Adrien.” Marinette stated. Nino laughed.

“Dude, I think I decided that the moment she said “Vive la Chance” after falling out of the sky.”


End file.
